A method of managing receipt of a package using a vehicle includes: determining a size of the package when there is a request for delivery of the package, determining an optimal place to store the package in the vehicle using the determined size of the package and a size of a loading space in the vehicle, providing the optimal place to a recipient, and finally determining a package storage position provided by the recipient. A deliverer may store the package in the finally determined package storage position.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
determining, by a size determination controller, a size of the package when there is a request for delivery of the package; acquiring, by the vehicle, information about weather around the vehicle; determining, by a place determination controller, an optimal place to store the package in the vehicle using the determined size of the package, a size of a loading space in the vehicle, and the information about the weather around the vehicle; and displaying, by a display of the vehicle, the optimal place to a recipient, wherein a deliverer is provided with instructions, by the display, to store the package in a finally determined package storage position. . A method of managing receipt of a package using a vehicle, the method comprising:
claim 1 collecting information related to the size of the package; and analyzing the collected information to determine the size of the package. . The method according to, wherein determining the size of the package includes:
claim 2 information about the size of the package included in product information provided by a shopping mall; information about the size of the package provided by the deliverer; or information about the size of the package directly provided by the recipient. . The method according to, wherein the collected information includes at least one of:
claim 1 receiving the size of the loading space that varies depending on a type of the loading space; comparing the size of the loading space with the determined size of the package; and determining the optimal place using a result of the comparison. . The method according to, wherein determining the optimal place to store the package includes:
claim 4 . The method according to, wherein the size of the loading space is stored in advance or is provided by the recipient.
claim 1 . The method according to, wherein the information about the weather is acquired from a sensor mounted to the vehicle or is received from outside of the vehicle.
claim 1 storing the determined optimal place; and selecting the stored optimal place and providing the selected optimal place to the recipient. . The method according to, further comprising:
claim 1 granting the deliverer authority to access the package storage position; and removing the authority when access to the package storage position is completed. . The method according to, further comprising:
claim 8 wherein the deliverer accesses the package storage position using the one-time digital key. . The method according to, wherein the authority includes sending a one-time digital key to the deliverer in response to a request of the recipient or when a condition set by the recipient is satisfied, and
claim 9 determining whether access to a space corresponding to the package storage position using the one-time digital key has been completed; and ending use of the one-time digital key upon determining that access to the space has been completed. . The method according to, wherein removing the authority includes:
claim 10 . The method according to, wherein access to the space corresponding to the package storage position using the one-time digital key includes at least one of opening of a frunk of the vehicle, opening of a tailgate of the vehicle, opening of a first-row door of the vehicle, or opening of a second-row door of the vehicle.
claim 9 . The method according to, wherein the loading space includes at least one of a frunk, a trunk, a first-row space, or a second-row space of the vehicle.
claim 1 . The vehicle configured for use with the method of.
a size determination controller configured to determine a size of the package in response to a first control signal; a sensor configured to acquire information about weather around the vehicle; a place determination controller configured to determine an optimal place to store the package in the vehicle using the determined size of the package, a size of a loading space in the vehicle, and the information about the weather around the vehicle; a display configured to display the determined optimal place to a recipient in response to a second control signal; and a controller configured to generate the first control signal in response to a request for delivery of the package, wherein a deliverer is provided with instructions to store the package in a finally determined package storage position. . An apparatus for managing receipt of a package using a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
claim 14 a comparator configured to compare the size of the loading space that varies depending on a type of the loading space with the determined size of the package; and a place analyzer configured to determine the optimal place using a result of the comparison. . The apparatus according to, wherein the place determination controller includes:
claim 15 . The apparatus according to, further comprising a storage configured to store the size of the loading space and the determined optimal place.
claim 14 . The apparatus according to, wherein the controller generates the second control signal in response to a request of the recipient.
claim 14 . The vehicle configured for use with the apparatus of.
program instructions that determine a size of a package when there is a request for delivery of the package; program instructions that acquire information about weather around vehicle; program instructions that determine an optimal place to store the package in a-the vehicle using the determined size of the package, a size of a loading space in the vehicle, and the information about the weather around the vehicle; and program instructions that display the optimal place to a recipient for finally determining a package storage position provided by the recipient. . A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium containing program instructions executed by a processor, the recording medium comprising:
Complete technical specification and implementation details from the patent document.
This application claims under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (a) the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0106945, filed on Aug. 16, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for managing receipt of a package using a vehicle and a computer-readable recording medium for executing the method.
In certain newer residential buildings, e.g., buildings that may include apartments, condominiums, or multi-purpose complexes including commercial and residential facilities, unmanned package storage facilities are installed. Therefore, when a recipient of a package is not at home, a delivery person may conveniently store the package in an unmanned package storage facility, and may send a personal identification number to the recipient, thereby safely delivering the package to the recipient without loss of the package.
In particular, a recipient may receive a package in a non-face-to-face manner without anxiety of meeting a stranger.
However, alternatives to an unmanned package storage facility in existing or new buildings are being studied.
The present disclosure is directed to a method and apparatus for managing receipt of a package using a vehicle and a computer-readable recording medium for executing the method that substantially obviate one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
Embodiments provide a method and apparatus for managing receipt of a package using a vehicle and a computer-readable recording medium for executing the method, which may perform management so that a recipient safely receives a package regardless of the presence or absence of an unmanned package storage facility.
However, the objects to be accomplished by the embodiments are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects not mentioned herein will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.
Additional advantages, objects, and features of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the disclosure. The objectives and other advantages of the disclosure may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the disclosure, as embodied and broadly described herein, a method of managing receipt of a package using a vehicle may include determining, by a size determination controller, a size of the package when there is a request for delivery of the package; determining, by a place determination controller, an optimal place to store the package in the vehicle using the determined size of the package and a size of a loading space in the vehicle; and providing, by a display, the optimal place to a recipient, where a deliverer may store the package in a finally determined package storage position.
In an example, the determining a size may include collecting information related to the size of the package and analyzing the collected information to determine the size of the package.
In an example, the collected information may include at least one of information about the size of the package included in product information provided by a shopping mall, information about the size of the package provided by the deliverer, or information about the size of the package directly provided by the recipient.
In an example, the determining an optimal place may include receiving the size of the loading space varying depending on a type of the loading space, comparing the size of the loading space varying depending on a type of the loading space with the determined size of the package, and determining the optimal place using a result of the comparison.
In an example, the size of the loading space varying depending on a type of the loading space may be stored in advance or may be provided by the recipient.
In an example, the determining an optimal place may include acquiring information about weather around the vehicle, and the optimal place may be determined using both the result of the comparison and the information about the weather.
In an example, the information about the weather may be acquired from a sensor mounted to the vehicle or may be received from outside.
In an example, the method may further include storing the determined optimal place, selecting the stored optimal place, and providing the selected optimal place to the recipient.
In an example, the method may further include granting the deliverer authority to access the package storage position and removing the authority when access to the package storage position to store the package by the deliverer granted the authority is completed.
In an example, the granting authority may include sending a one-time digital key to the deliverer in response to a request of the recipient or when a condition set by the recipient is satisfied, and the deliverer may access the package storage position using the one-time digital key.
In an example, the removing the authority may include determining whether access to a space corresponding to the package storage position using the one-time digital key has been completed and ending use of the one-time digital key upon determining that access to the space has been completed.
In an example, the loading space may include at least one of a frunk, a trunk, a first-row space, or a second-row space of the vehicle.
In an example, access to the space corresponding to the package storage position using the one-time digital key may include at least one of opening of a frunk of the vehicle, opening of a tailgate of the vehicle, opening of a first-row door of the vehicle, or opening of a second-row door of the vehicle.
A vehicle may be configured to carry out the method of managing receipt of the package.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for managing receipt of a package using a vehicle may include a size determination controller configured to determine a size of a package in response to a first control signal, a place determination controller configured to determine an optimal place to store the package in a vehicle using the determined size of the package and a size of a loading space in the vehicle, an display configured to provide the determined optimal place to a recipient in response to a second control signal, and a controller configured to generate the first control signal in response to a request for delivery of the package, wherein a deliverer may store the package in a finally determined package storage position.
In an example, the place determination controller may include a comparator configured to compare the size of the loading space varying depending on a type of the loading space with the determined size of the package and a place analyzer configured to determine the optimal place using a result of the comparison.
In an example, the apparatus may further include a storage configured to store the size of the loading space varying depending on a type of the loading space and the determined optimal place.
In an example, the controller may generate the second control signal in response to a request of the recipient.
In a further aspect of the present disclosure, a recording medium storing a program for executing a method of managing receipt of a package using a vehicle may store a program configured to implement a function of determining a size of a package when there is a request for delivery of the package, a function of determining an optimal place to store the package in a vehicle using the determined size of the package and a size of a loading space in the vehicle, and a function of providing the optimal place to a recipient and finally determining a package storage position provided by the recipient.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present disclosure are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the disclosure as claimed.
It is understood that the term “vehicle” or “vehicular” or other similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g. fuels derived from resources other than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example both gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Throughout the specification, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. In addition, the terms “unit”, “-er”, “-or”, and “module” described in the specification mean units for processing at least one function and operation, and can be implemented by hardware components or software components and combinations thereof.
Further, the control logic of the present disclosure may be embodied as non-transitory computer readable media on a computer readable medium containing executable program instructions executed by a processor, controller or the like. Examples of computer readable media include, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, compact disc (CD)-ROMS, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, flash drives, smart cards and optical data storage devices. The computer readable medium can also be distributed in network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable media is stored and executed in a distributed fashion, e.g., by a telematics server or a Controller Area Network (CAN).
The present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which various embodiments are shown. The examples, however, may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be more thorough and complete, and will more fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “on” or “under” another element, it may be directly on/under the element, or one or more intervening elements may also be present.
In addition, relational terms, such as “first”, “second”, “on/upper part/above” and “under/lower part/below”, are used only to distinguish between one subject or element and another subject or element, without necessarily requiring or involving any physical or logical relationship or sequence between the subjects or elements.
Hereinafter, a method and apparatus for managing receipt of a package using a vehicle according to embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 FIG. 100 is a flowchart for explaining a methodof managing receipt of a package using a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a “method”) according to an embodiment.
2 FIG. 1 FIG. 100 is a process diagram for helping understanding of the methodshown in.
3 FIG. 200 is a block diagram of an apparatusfor managing receipt of a package using a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as an “apparatus”) according to an embodiment.
100 200 100 200 1 FIG. 3 FIG. 1 FIG. 3 FIG. The methodshown inmay be performed by the apparatusshown in, but the embodiments are not limited thereto. That is, according to another embodiment, the methodshown inmay be performed by an apparatus configured differently from the apparatusshown in.
200 100 200 100 3 FIG. 1 FIG. 3 FIG. 1 FIG. In addition, the apparatusshown inmay perform the methodshown in, but the embodiments are not limited thereto. That is, according to another embodiment, the apparatusshown inmay perform a method configured differently from the methodshown in.
100 200 1 FIG. 3 FIG. Hereinafter, for better understanding, the methodshown inwill be described as being performed by the apparatusshown in.
200 210 220 230 240 3 FIG. The apparatusshown inmay include a size determination controller (or “size determiner”), a place determination controller (or “place determiner”), a user interface, and a storage.
110 112 First, when there is a request for delivery of a package, the size of the package is determined (stepsand).
20 10 A personwho delivers the package (hereinafter referred to as a “deliverer”) requests a personwho wants to receive the package (hereinafter referred to as a “recipient”) to receive the package. The request for receipt may be made using a wireless terminal (e.g., a mobile phone) of the deliverer. However, the embodiments are not limited to any specific means or method for requesting receipt.
10 200 After receiving such a request, the recipientmay activate the apparatusin order to request delivery of the package.
200 10 110 The apparatusdetermines whether the receipt of delivery is requested from the deliverer to the recipient, and is activated upon determining that delivery is requested (step).
200 112 Thereafter, the activated apparatusdetermines the size of the package (e.g. the length, width, and height of the package) (step).
110 112 200 Stepsandmay be performed by the apparatusas follows.
230 10 20 232 234 First, the user interfacemay serve to interface with the recipientand the deliverer, and may include a controllerand an information provider(e.g., a display).
232 210 220 200 200 200 As provided herein, in addition to the controller, the size determinerand the place determinermay constitute modules and/or devices of the apparatus, and may constitute controllers. For example, the above units of the apparatusmay constitute hardware components that form part of a controller (e.g., modules or devices of a high-level controller), or may constitute individual controllers each having a processor and memory. The apparatusmay include one or more processors and memory.
110 232 230 20 10 1 232 10 200 For example, in order to perform step, the controllerof the user interfacedetermines whether the receipt of delivery has been requested from the delivererto the recipient, and generates a first control signal Cin response to a result of the determination. A determination as to whether delivery has been requested may be made by the controllerwhen the recipientrequests activation of the apparatus.
112 210 1 220 Thereafter, in order to perform step, the size determinerdetermines the size of the package in response to the first control signal C, and outputs the determined size to the place determiner.
210 According to the embodiment, the size determinermay collect information related to the size of the package, and may analyze the collected information to determine the size (the length, width, and height) of the package.
10 20 200 10 210 230 A subject that collects information may be the recipient, the deliverer, or the apparatus, but the embodiments are not limited to any specific information collecting subject. For example, the recipientmay collect information, and may provide the collected information to the size determinerthrough the user interface.
The information collected in order to determine the size of the package may include various pieces of information. For example, the collected information may include at least one of first to third size information.
20 10 The first size information may be information related to the size of the package included in product information provided by a shopping mall, the second size information may be information related to the size of the package provided by the deliverer, for example, a picture or video, and the third size information may be information related to the size of the package known to the recipient.
200 20 For example, when the collected information is the second size information, the apparatusmay analyze the picture or video provided by the delivererto determine the size of the package.
10 200 200 According to an embodiment, the recipientmay provide at least one of the first to third size information to the apparatuswhile activating the apparatus.
20 10 20 20 10 10 200 According to another embodiment, upon receiving a request for receipt of the package from the deliverer, the recipientmay request the first or second size information from the deliverer. In response thereto, the deliverermay provide the first or second size information to the recipient, and the recipientmay provide the first or second size information to the apparatus.
1 FIG. 112 114 Referring back to, after step, an optimal place to store the package in the vehicle may be determined using the determined size of the package and the size of the loading space in the vehicle (step).
4 FIG. 3 FIG. 220 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the place determinershown in.
220 222 224 4 FIG. The place determinershown inmay include a comparatorand a place analyzer.
5 FIG. is a view showing the external appearance of the vehicle capable of storing the package.
5 FIG. 310 312 314 316 Referring to, the loading space in the vehicle may include at least one of a frunk (a portmanteau of front and trunk), a trunk, a first-row space, or a second-row space.
114 220 210 For example, in order to perform step, the place determinermay determine an optimal place to store the package in the vehicle using the size of the package determined by the size determinerand the size of the loading space in the vehicle.
222 1 2 224 The comparatorcompares the size of the loading space received through an input terminal INwith the determined size of the package received through an input terminal IN, and outputs a result of the comparison to the place analyzer. In this case, the size of the loading space varies depending on the type thereof.
10 240 240 310 312 314 316 220 240 In this case, information on the size of the loading space that varies depending on the type thereof may be stored in advance or may be provided from the recipient. For example, the storagemay store in advance information on the size of the loading space that varies depending on the type thereof. That is, the storagemay store in advance information on the size (i.e. the length, width, and height) of the loading space in the vehicle, e.g. at least one of the frunk, the trunk, the first-row space, or the second-row space, and the place determinermay extract the information on the size (i.e. the length, width, and height) of the loading space stored in the storage, may compare the same with the information on the size (i.e. the length, width, and height) of the package, and may determine an optimal place.
224 222 2 According to an embodiment, the place analyzermay determine an optimal place using a result of the comparison by the comparator, and may output the determined place through an output terminal OUT.
224 224 222 224 3 230 According to another embodiment, the place analyzermay acquire information on the weather around the vehicle in order to determine an optimal place. Thereafter, the place analyzermay determine an optimal place using both the result of the comparison by the comparatorand the weather information. To this end, the place analyzermay directly receive the weather information through an input terminal IN, or may receive the same via the user interface. The weather information may be provided from a sensor mounted to the vehicle (e.g. a raindrop detection sensor or an image sensor such as a camera), or may be provided from outside the vehicle. For example, the weather information may be provided from outside the vehicle through an Audio Video Navigation Telematics (AVNT) system.
114 116 116 220 240 After step, the determined optimal place may be stored (step). For example, in order to perform step, the optimal place determined by the place determinermay be stored in the storage.
116 10 10 118 122 After step, the optimal place may be provided to the recipient, and a position provided by the recipientmay be finally determined to be a position at which the package is to be stored (hereinafter referred to as a “storage position”) (stepsto).
10 118 10 10 120 According to an embodiment, a determination as to whether the optimal place is requested by the recipientmay be made (step). If the optimal place is requested by the recipient, the optimal place is provided to the recipient(step).
118 232 230 10 2 120 234 240 2 10 1 In order to perform step, the controllerof the user interfacemay determine whether the optimal place is requested by the recipient, and may generate a second control signal Cin response to a result of the determination. In order to perform step, the information providermay read the optimal place from the storagein response to the second control signal C, and may provide the read optimal place to the recipientthrough an output terminal OUT.
10 220 200 10 220 234 10 1 According to another embodiment, even if the optimal place is not requested by the recipient, when the optimal place is determined by the place determinerof the apparatus, the determined optimal place may be provided to the recipient. That is, when the optimal place is determined by the place determiner, the information providermay provide the determined optimal place to the recipientthrough the output terminal OUT.
10 200 Thereafter, the recipientfinally determines a storage position in which the package is to be stored, i.e., received, taking into consideration the optimal place provided by the apparatus.
20 Thereafter, when the delivererstores the package in the finally determined storage position, the delivery of the package may be deemed complete.
20 A process for causing the delivererto store the package in the finally determined storage position will be described below.
120 200 122 10 200 200 After step, the apparatusmay determine whether the storage position has been finally determined (step). That is, when the recipientfinally determines the storage position and provides the same to the apparatus, the apparatusmay determine that the storage position has been finally determined.
20 124 200 20 20 10 When the storage position is finally determined, authority to access the storage position is granted to the deliverer(step). For example, the authority may be directly provided from the apparatusto the deliverer. Alternatively, unlike what is shown in the drawings, the authority may be provided to the delivererthrough the recipient. For example, the authority may be a “digital key” that enables access to the vehicle by opening the door of the vehicle.
20 10 10 Such authority may be provided to the delivererin response to the request of the recipientor when a condition set by the recipientis satisfied.
20 The authorized deliverermay access the storage position in the vehicle using the authority.
6 FIG. 20 is a view illustrating a state in which the delivereraccesses the vehicle using the digital key.
20 404 20 20 404 402 The deliverermay access the storage position using the digital key. In detail, when the digital key is sent to a mobile terminalof the deliverer, the deliverermay touch the mobile terminalto a door handleof the vehicle to open the door of the vehicle, and may access the storage position.
7 7 FIGS.A toC 126 are views for explaining step.
7 FIG.A 7 FIG.B 7 FIG.C For example, accessing a space corresponding to the storage position using the digital key entails opening of the frunk of the vehicle (refer to), opening of the second-row door (refer to), opening of the trunk (or tailgate) (refer to), or opening of the first-row door of the vehicle (not shown).
20 20 20 20 10 10 20 20 In this case, according to the embodiment, the authentication of the deliverermay be requested for security. That is, when the delivererattempts to access a corresponding space using the digital key, the vehicle may request authentication from the deliverer. In this case, the deliverermay request an authentication password from the recipient, and the recipientmay send the authentication password to the deliverer. The deliverermay access the corresponding space in the vehicle using the received authentication password.
124 20 20 126 128 After step, when access to the storage position for storage of the package by the authorized delivereris completed, the delivereris deprived of his/her authority (stepsand).
20 126 First, a determination is made as to whether access to the storage position for storage of the package by the authorized delivererhas been completed (step).
20 In particular, a determination is made as to whether the delivererhas closed the frunk, the first-row door, the second-row door, or the trunk (or tailgate) of the vehicle after loading the package in the space corresponding to the storage position using the digital key, i.e., accessing the vehicle.
128 404 20 When access to the open space is completed, the use of the digital key is ended (step). For example, when access is completed, information about the digital key stored in the mobile terminalof the deliverermay be deleted. In this way, the digital key may be disposable.
122 128 230 Stepstodescribed above may also be performed by the user interface.
200 10 100 10 232 210 200 240 200 234 200 234 200 1 FIG. 3 FIG. Meanwhile, the aforementioned apparatusmay correspond to a mobile terminal of the recipient. In this case, the methodshown inmay be performed as follows by an application installed in the mobile terminal of the recipient. In this case, the controllerand the size determinershown inmay correspond to a processor of the mobile terminal, the storagemay correspond to a memory of the mobile terminal, and the information providermay correspond to a display window of the mobile terminal. In particular, the information providermay be a display of the mobile terminalor another communication device.
8 FIG. 1 FIG. 400 200 10 100 is a diagram showing an example of a screenprovided by an embodiment of an application installed in the mobile terminalof the recipientthat performs the methodshown in.
400 410 412 414 416 420 8 FIG. The screenshown inmay include a display window, an activation key button (ON), a reproduction button®, a selection button, and a speaker.
10 412 200 110 112 116 10 410 First, when the recipientclicks on the activation key button, the mobile terminalmay recognize that there is a request for delivery (step), and may activate the application to perform stepsto. In this case, the recipientmay touch the display windowto provide collected information.
10 414 200 10 118 10 410 420 120 200 410 Thereafter, when the recipientclicks on the reproduction button, the mobile terminalmay recognize that the recipientrequests the determined optimal place (step), and may notify the recipientof the determined optimal place in a visual manner through the display windowor in an audible manner through the speaker(step). In this case, an image corresponding to the optimal place determined by the mobile terminalmay be displayed on the display window.
10 416 410 410 Thereafter, the recipientmay click on the selection buttonto select his/her desired storage position from among the various loading spaces taking into consideration the recommended optimal place displayed on the display window. To this end, the various loading spaces including the recommended optimal place may be displayed on the display window.
10 200 122 124 128 When the recipientselects the storage position, the mobile terminalmay recognize the selected storage position as a final storage position (step), and may perform stepsto.
Meanwhile, a computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of storage devices in which data that may be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium may include ROM, RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, and an optical data storage device. The computer-readable recording medium may also be distributed over network-coupled computer systems so that the computer-readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. Also, functional programs, code, and code segments for executing the above-described method of managing receipt of a package using a vehicle may be easily construed by programmers skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.
10 10 A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for executing the method of managing receipt of a package using a vehicle according to the embodiment may store a program for implementing a function of determining a size of the package when there is a request for delivery of the package, a function of determining an optimal place to store the package in the vehicle using the determined size of the package and the size of the loading space in the vehicle, and a function of providing the optimal place to the recipientand finally determining a package storage position provided by the recipient.
Hereinafter, a package receipt method according to a comparative example and the embodiment will be described.
20 There is a case in which the delivereris not capable of storing a package in an unmanned package storage facility. For example, many private houses may not be equipped with separate package storage facilities due to high installation cost. Generally, when a recipient who lives in a private house not equipped with a separate package storage facility is absent, a delivery person may place a package in front of a gate or may throw a package over a fence, and may consider that delivery of the package to the recipient has been completed. In this case, however, there is a risk that the package placed in front of a gate is stolen or the package thrown over a fence is damaged. Further, when the weather is not good (e.g. heavy rain or snow), the package may be damaged depending on the packaging condition thereof.
10 100 10 10 1 FIG. In contrast, according to the embodiment, when the recipientwho lives in a private house or a collective residential building, which is not equipped with a separate package storage facility, is absent, the methodshown inis performed, so that a package is stored in a desired position in a vehicle designated by the recipient. Accordingly, the recipientmay safely receive the package.
20 20 10 20 20 In addition, according to the embodiment, a one-time digital key is sent to the deliverer, and the delivereraccesses the vehicle using the digital key to safely store the package in a place designated by the recipient. Thereafter, when the delivererperforms a behavior corresponding to end of access, for example, closes the frunk, the trunk, the first-row door, or the second-row door of the vehicle, the delivery of the package is deemed complete, and the authority granted to the delivereris removed, thereby minimizing side effects that may be caused by delivery and receipt of the package according to the embodiment.
10 In addition, according to the embodiment, when the recipientis absent, a package may be safely delivered without a risk of package theft or package damage attributable to mishandling by a delivery person or outside environment factors like weather.
10 According to the embodiment, when the recipientwho lives in a private house or a collective residential building, which is not equipped with an unmanned package storage facility, is absent, a package may be safely delivered to the recipient. In particular, the embodiment is applicable to many countries in which the majority of people live in private houses, and thus has high industrial applicability.
10 10 10 20 In addition, according to the embodiment, when the weather around the vehicle is bad (rain, heavy rain, or heavy snow), an optimal place is determined and recommended to the recipientin order to help the recipientdetermine a storage position (e.g. a tailgate) suitable for the weather, and the recipientsends information about the determined storage position to the deliverer. Accordingly, a package may be safely stored in the determined storage position (e.g. a tailgate) in the vehicle without getting wet or damaged by rain or snow. In particular, when opening a tailgate, it is possible to prevent a package from getting wet by rain or snow.
10 10 10 Further, according to the embodiment, in order to help the recipientselect an appropriate package storage position from among the loading spaces in the vehicle, the size of a package is compared with the pre-stored sizes of the loading spaces, and an optimal place is determined based on a result of the comparison and is recommended to the recipient. Accordingly, the recipientmay rapidly select the most appropriate storage position.
As is apparent from the above description, according to the method and apparatus for managing receipt of a package using a vehicle and the computer-readable recording medium for executing the method according to the embodiments, a package may be stored in a desired position in a vehicle designated by a recipient, and thus the recipient may safely receive the package. In addition, after the package is stored in the vehicle, authority granted to a deliverer is removed, thereby minimizing side effects that may be caused by receiving the package using the vehicle. In addition, when the recipient is absent, the package may be safely delivered without a risk of package theft or package damage attributable to mishandling by the deliverer or outside environment factors like weather. In particular, the package may be safely stored in the vehicle without getting wet or damaged by rain or snow. Further, the size of the package may be compared with the pre-stored sizes of loading spaces, and an optimal place may be determined based on a result of the comparison and may be recommended to the recipient, whereby the recipient may rapidly select the most appropriate storage position.
However, the effects achievable through the embodiments are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned herein will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the above description.
The above-described various embodiments may be combined with each other without departing from the scope of the present disclosure unless they are incompatible with each other.
In addition, for any element or process that is not described in detail in any of the various embodiments, reference may be made to the description of an element or a process having the same reference numeral in another embodiment, unless otherwise specified.
While the present disclosure has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, these embodiments are only proposed for illustrative purposes, and do not restrict the present disclosure, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the essential characteristics of the embodiments set forth herein. For example, respective configurations set forth in the embodiments may be modified and applied. Further, differences in such modifications and applications should be construed as falling within the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
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July 10, 2024
June 9, 2026
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